Sweet Escape
by kat.A.t
Summary: Alessia hate being an Itako, or rather, hates being different. When her life becomes a mess, someone is willing to offer her an escape from everything she hates. Uncertain of what she wants, she enters the Shaman fight. Uncertain pairing. PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Character profile

Hello guys:) This is my second fanfiction, also about Shaman King. Like the first one, this is about the development of the shaman battle (based on the manga and anime), but with another OC.

Here is the main character's profile

Name: Alessia. Her mom used to call her Ali.

Age: 13

Gender: female

Powers: She is an Itako. She abandoned her training a few years ago, so she isn't that strong. Her mother taught her a lot about the shamanic world, so she is aware of the shaman battle and other important facts. She learned how to use her future main weapon, which are jade darts (powerful magic items, but not 'physically' strong, thought), when she was a kid.

General description: She is really pretty. Long, wavy black hair (like her late mom's). Dark eyes and pale skin. Short for her age, so people tend to see her as a small girl. Almost never smiles and has a mysterious aura. (Like Mari from the Hanagumi girls). Smart and doesn't trust anyone, but herself. Doesn't hate humans, but doesn't like them either. Same with shamans. Maybe I'll post a picture of her later in my profile.

Outfit: Denim shorts, white t-shirt, and army boots.


	2. Chapter 1

I have three ways to describe my life so far:

1. Stupid

2. Pointless

3. Really stupid and pointless

For the past four years I've been confined to my house because of certain "abilities" I posses. I like to think about it as a curse.

Being able to see and talk to spirits was really a pain. My friends stopped hanging out with me when I was around ten. Sometimes they saw me talking to no one and therefore treated me as a freak, which I am. Even my dad is starting to believe I'm insane. HE doesn't just come out and say it, but I _feel_ it. His hearts is filled with uneasiness when he is around me.

That's another curse I have. I'm able to sense other people's feelings. I have been able to do this for so long that I can tell when people are lying, uncomfortable, or even murderous. It is a drag. Fortunately, I have learned how to shut out my emotions. Doing this helps repel everyone else.

It was pouring outside. It wasn't even five o'clock but it was already dark. I'm not much of a sleeper, but the sound of the raindrops tapping on my window and the chilly weather were making my eyelids heavy. I collapsed on my bed, ready to take a long nap when I heard my step-mom/bitch calling me.

"Alessia! Come down here immediately!" Dang. Could here voice be more annoying? I doubt it. Well, what can I say about her? She is a dumb blonde who has more silicone than brains in that fake little barbie-doll body of hers.

"What the hell do you want?" I shouted back without even raising my head from the pillow.

"Just come down here you little shrimp!" I could tell she was getting angrier by the second. But can you blame me? What else I'm I supposed to do in this prison than to annoy the warden?

"Make me!" As you could see, our "loving" relationship was obvious to anyone with eyes (and ears).

I could hear her stomping her heels up the stairs and heading to my room. I buried my face in the pillow before having to see her face. Then the door slammed open.

"You should start listening to your new mom, brat. How about not trying to be so bitchy all the time?" She said through her brand-new botox-injected lips.

"I'll be nicer when you become smarter. But I wouldn't hold my breath." I groaned through my pillow. "And by the way, you are not my mom. You haven't even married my dad. He would never marry you."

"Well then you don't know him as well as you think." Then she extended her hand proudly, showing a ring. "See?" she said in an overly sweet voice.

"WHAT?" This couldn't be happening.

"That's right. We turned in the papers this morning. Its' official!" I could seriously shot myself right now.

"It can't be! I mean, I can't even see your face without wanting to rip off those fake extensions. How I'm I supposed to cohabitate with YOU?

"Oh honey, you won't have to." she said as she placed one manicured hand on my shoulder. Of course, I shoved it off. Then she threw a pamphlet in my lap.

The cover said:

_National Psychiatric Hospital for Young Girls._

"You can't be serious"

"But I am, Alessia. You know you're not mentally sane. It pains me a lot to send you away, but you represent danger for those around you."

"Does my father knows about this?" I asked with my eyes still fixed in the paper.

"Of course, sweetie. He is the one who came up with the idea in first place."

"You are lying," I could feel it, "In fact, he doesn't even know about it, does he? I bet you did your homework all on your own."

Judging by the shocked expression in her face, I hit right in the mark. She took a step closer and leaned her face down so it would be right in front of mine.

"Here's what gonna happen, kid. You are going to pack your bags and leave in four hours. Got that?"

"Oh yeah? Who's going to make me?" I defied back.

"If you are not out of my sight by 10 o'clock tonight, I'll cut myself and tell your 'daddy' you had one of your little 'episodes'. Who is she going to believe? Her beautiful new wife or that freak she has for a daughter?" She took out a small knife she was carrying in her pocket. She was prepared for threatening me.

I felt my stomach sink. I knew my dad wouldn't believe me. Hell, I wouldn't believe in me, either. Especially since it was perfectly possible that I could be the one who hurt her. She was right; I'll have to leave. It was going to happen sooner or later, anyway.

"Get out." I said in an acid voice.

"Oh, getting angry, aren't we?" then she let out an ugly laugh that penetrated my skin and reached my bones.

"I said," I took got up from my bed and took a step forward, making her take one back., "Get. Out." Even I was impressed of how sharp and cold my voice came out.

"_Make me_" She quoted. At this pint I could have smashed her face, but I didn't. Yet.

The temperature in the room began to drop considerably, and step-bitch began to shiver.

"Wha-? What are you doing?"

"I won't say it again. Leave or you'll regret it." The windows slammed open and a strong wind current made it's way into the room, smashing the lamp that illuminated the place. Darkness consumed everything. Step-bitch began to laugh hysterically.

"I KNEW IT! You are a freak of nature! I should have executed my plan earlier. I bet your father will be glad to get away from you!" Then she turned around and ran towards the door. She must have been scared to death, because a second later I heard her car driving away from the house.

_Breathe, breath. _I reminded myself. As soon as I calmed down, the room returned to normal. The floor was soaked with rainwater and there was glass all over the place. But I couldn't care less. I opened my closet and threw a bag in the floor. Then proceeded to fill it up with any clothes that I could get my hands on.

After packing up, I walked to my nightstand and picked a framed picture of a beautiful woman. The calmed expression in her face soothed me. She was always so composed and relaxed, that's what I loved most about her. _Mom, what am I supposed to do now? _I placed the picture carefully in my bag along with all the mismatched clothes. _I'm not going to any loony house, but I'm leaving alright._

Then I remembered I was leaving something important behind. I ran back to my room and found it. Lying on my desk was a silver bracelet with three small bells hanging from them.

-Flashback-

"I don't want to be an itako, mommy!" I sobbed, "I really hate being different!"

I had just finished my Itako lessons and just scared the hell I out of me when I saw the spirit of a man who died beheaded.

"Spirits are horrible! I want to be like everyone else!" Then I covered my face with my hands and kept on crying for a while. My mom just sat there next to me, waiting for me to calm down.

She was so beautiful. Not the model-like beautiful, but something better. Kindness radiated from her calmed expression and each of her movements were full of grace. Wisdom filled each of her words and she always said what she thought. Her beautiful dark hair felt like silk over her shoulders, accentuating her pale blue eyes and heart shaped face. She appreciated honesty over everything else. My mom was herself to the core. Her name, Hikari, fitted her perfectly.

"Ali," she used to call me. " Did you know? Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." She recited her favorite quote, which I already knew by heart. "Being like everybody else may be the easiest thing to do. But when you fall into the ground, when those you called your friends walk away, and the world turn it's back on you, all there is left is yourself. Be proud and stand with your head high."

I coudn't stop listening to her words, which came out like music. She was the only one who could make me think. Really think.

Then her smile turned into a serious expression. She placed a hand over one of my cheeks and told me. "If you are ashamed to stand by your colors, then you better start looking for another flag."

As she stroked my cheek softly, the silver bells in her bracelet dangled along with the motion of her hand, hitting each other and creating the sweetest of sounds. I began listening carefully to the little _tings _that indulged me. It was almost hypnotic.

"Ali? Ali!" I heard my mother's voice in a distance. But I couldn't focus. I felt like I was inside a glass box and she was banging against the walls. I could see her, but no sound was coming through. All I heard were the bells.

"Alessia, you've got to snap out of it!" she sounded alarmed now.

"I-I can't. It's too strong. The bells, the bells..." and my voice drifted off. _Mom is scared, _I thought_, something must be wrong. I have to come back! _

It took all I had and more to return to myself. When I finally did, the first thing I saw was my mother holding my shoulders tightly. Then I glanced around and saw them. Thousands of spirits of all kinds standing around me.

"W-what was t-that?" My whole body was shaking violently. My mom's porcelain-like face was filled with scratches. So were her hands.

"You entered in spiritual trance. It's an ability Itakos possess in order to invoke their true powers. It seems like you used my bracelet as medium." She had released my shoulders and was now sitting in front of me. "You invoked so much spirits while in trance, that this place was beginning to lose spiritual balance."

"I'm sorry." was all I managed to say. All the spirits were beginning to return from where ever they came from.

"It's okay. It was my fault. I never believed you would be able to enter that state without even trying. I was careless. But Ali, you must be careful of that power. You may lose control of it, and eventually get lost within yourself. Use it only in time of need, always having a reason to come back. That's how you'll return."

My mom died the year after in a car accident, and left me the bracelet with a little note attached: _It seems it works better with you than it ever did for me. Use it wisely._

Since my mom died, I stopped living as an Itako, and tried with all my heart to burry those memories deep inside me. But they always came back. I began to hate being a shaman.

-End of flashback-

Outside it was still raining. _I'm leaving everything behind, might as well get a little wet._

After a few seconds of wandering aimlessly under the rain, I was completely soaked. Good thing I never wore any make up, because right now I would look like a pathetic clown. My jean shorts felt heavier and inside my army boots was forming a lake. The water was making by white t-shirt transparent, so I took out a gray hoodie and put it on.

When I was about to make another turn in a deserted block. There was a boy standing there, waiting for me.

"Alessia." He acknowledged with a smile. He had long brown hair that went pass his waist and beautiful matching eyes. He had huge star earrings and instead of wearing a shirt, he just wore a cloak.

But he wasn't wet. In fact, there was heat coming from him. The rain was avoiding him. Then I noticed why. Behind him stood a huge red spirit. He only had eyes in his face and horn sticking from his head. This dude was a shaman, and a powerful one at that.

I just went pass him.

"You have some guts to ignore the future king." he said from behind.

"And what does your highness wants with me?" I played along, but kept walking. He let out a soft chuckle.

"I saw your little discussion with your step-mother back there. All humans are like that, you know? Hateful, selfish little creatures. They deserve nothing but punishment. Don't you want revenge?" Even thought I couldn't see him, I could almost feel the smirk in his voice. Over confident bastard.

"Not really. I don't like humans but I don't like shamans, either."

"Then how about I offer you something better? Something I'm sure you have been waiting for?

"..."

"An escape. From your house, from rejection, from everything. I could set you free."

I halted and turned around. I almost peed myself when I found him inches away from me.

"So that got your attention, didn't it? Even though I can't read your mind, which I found extremely peculiar, I can read _you _like an open book_. _I know you've got potential."

Then I noticed I couldn't read his heart either.

"Who are you exactly? Shouldn't you be heading to the shaman fight?"

"I'm Hao Asakura. And yes, I'm on my way to the fight. I'm surprised you even know about it."

"I'm the daughter of an Itako. Of course I would know. In fact, I know more than you think. You are Hao Asakura, former head of the Asakura clan. You lost in the last fight. Seems like you are back for some more." I said.

"Interesting. Looks like your mother taught you well." He answered. "If you know so much already, join me." He extended his hand, expecting me to take it.

"Why should I?"

"Why shouldn't you? You have nothing left in here. I know you are not trained to fight as a shaman, so you would just have to sit back and watch." His hand was still extended? Was he seriously expecting me to take it like a little girl?

"Fine. I'll go. But I won't be taking part in your revenge-on-humanity plan. I'm just tagging along because I'm dying to get out of here. Now move your royal ass and let's get out of here."

"Let's." He said, finally lowering his hand. "I also have a small present for you." He handed me a fancy looking scarlet box. (Which, by the way, looked like you could fit a microwave in it) "You shouldn't be unarmed while traveling with me. I have a lot of...'enemies'."

I was struggling with the huge box, so I placed it in the wet pavement and proceeded to open it. When the lit finally came of, I almost fainted.

Inside the box laid about a hundred jade darts, all sharpened up and ready to use.

"How did you..?"

"I believe you recognize them."

I did. They used to be my mom's most powerful weapon, but suddenly disappeared one day. She had taught me for years how to use them properly in a fight and to perform powerful spells.

I grabbed one from the set and touched the tip of it slightly. It had incantations carved all over it.

"Don't think I don't know what you are doing. You are taking advantage of my feelings for mother to manipulate me, and just this once I'll go with it." I said while looking at Hao straight into his eyes. He just grinned in return.

"We should get going, Ali." He began walking towards his spirit. Then motioned me to get on top of it. "Ladies first." He grabbed my hand to help me up, but I removed it quickly.

"I can do it by myself. And a word of advice," I pointed the jade dart I still had in my hand right to his neck. He didn't seem scared, though. "don't you ever call me Ali again. I'm warning you, I never miss a target." Then lowered the weapon and placed it in my pocket.

As soon as we sat down, the fire spirit extended his arms and flew away.

_Mom, what have I gotten myself into?_


	3. Chapter 2

**Finally chapter 2 is done! I'm not sure if this chapter turned out good, so please leave your reviews, comments, and ideas. Well, then, enjoy!**

**Kisses!**

**Btw I do not own shaman king!**

We had been flying for what seemed like an eternity, but I was fine with it. There were no stars in the sky since it was completely cloudy, but this was the first time in a long time I was at peace.

Hao had been sitting facing the front the whole way, not even bothering to look back once in a while. Not like I would jump or anything.

I stood up and sat again next to Hao.

"Why did you ask me to join your team? I'm not really physically or spiritually strong." I asked him.

"It's because of shamans like you that I'm about to annihilate the human race." he replied, not turning his gaze from the front. "Humans are prejudice. They are scared of what's different, and therefore, tend to eliminate it. There are people like you all over the world, Alessia. Doesn't that make you want to do something about it? Of course, It is because I like to be the one in power, as well."

That's pretty...noble. But anyway, eliminating humanity is a little drastic. I should repay him for taking me away from my misery.

"So, what can I do to help? As long as I don't have to kill anyone." I said as I slumped on my back.

"I'm surprised you are willing to help me." He didn't look surprised at all.

"Don't get the wrong idea either, Hao. I'm doing this because I owe you one, not because I'm taking you as my king." I clarified. When I turned to see him, I caught him staring at my bracelet. "What?"

"That's nice." He referred to the bracelet. "It was your mother's, am I wrong?"

I sighted.

"Yeah, it was" I sounded like a melancholic puppy. Pathetic. I was expecting him to keep asking about my mom, but he changed the topic abruptly.

"You should forget everything about your life so far. Leave everything behind and you'll be stronger."

"What if I don't want to?"

"What is it you want to remember? Your neglecting father? Your new mother? Oh, I know! Those so called 'friends' that turned their backs on you after they found out you were different."

I was getting seriously pissed.

"Fuck off, Hao. What happened to me in the past has nothing to do with you, so stay the hell out of it." I snapped.

We sat there in silence for hours after that, until we arrived to a place that looked like an airport. As soon as we landed, there was a bunch of people waiting for us.

"Master Hao." They all acknowledged.

"Everybody, this is Alessia. She has decided to join our team. Be nice."

They just stared at me suspiciously, then I perceived an overwhelming flood of feeling.

_Who does she think she is? Sticking to Master Hao like that._

_She must be quite strong._

_Wow, she's pretty._

_Makes me want to beat her up._

God, this is not going to be easy.

"Hao, I'm going to look around for a while." Then I began to walk towards a food stand.

"Don't miss the flight. And Alessia, you should call me 'master' Hao."

"Not happening" I snorted, then disappeared into the crowd.

I wasn't gone for fifteen minutes when I heard there was a fight going on between some boy and a huge red spirit. I hurried back to make sure that jerk didn't kill anyone while I was gone.

By the time I got there, a blue-hared boy received a hit and was sent flying away. Hao didn't take long to introduce himself as the future king. Does he say that to everyone he meets?

Huh, that's odd. There is a boy that looks just like Hao. That can't but just a coincidence.

A boy with a spike in his head spirit caught the blue-haired boy, who seems to be called Horo Horo, before he smashed against something. Then Spike himself jumped at Hao. _How stupid, _I thought,_ with that little amount of furyoku he is just going to get himself killed._

Sure enough, Hao deflected his attack easily. At this rate, he is really going to kill Spike (Ren, I think.). I took out one of my darts and brought it to my lips, then recited a quick chant:

_պաշտպանիչ__նետ_

Hao launched at him, ready to make him barbeque.

_THERE!_ I thought, and then threw the dart just before both bodies collided.

The dart created a not-so-powerful shield, but that gave Ren enough time to get away. Hao looked at the dart and gave a knowing smiled, then turned around to meet my eyes.

"Oh, Alessia. You're back already." He grinned

"Like hell I am, Hao."

"It's 'master' Hao." he said

"Oh, I'm sorry your royal Assnes." I answered with sarcasm "What are you even doing?"

"Well, I was about to teach them some manners before you came in."

"It seemed to me you were showing off."

"Maybe I was."

"Why is a servant of Hao helping us?" asked Horo Horo to his friends, thinking no one was listening. I was about to talk back to him, but decided it was just not worth it.

"I get the feeling she is not with Hao." Answered Hao's look-alike. He saw me staring at him and smiled warmly. _Reminds me of mom._

"We should get going. The plane will depart soon." announced Hao while turning around and walking towards the departure gate. I took one last glance at those boys before following Hao to the plane. Funny, I do look like his lap dog.

When we entered the plane I looked around to find myself a seat. The only available seat were the ones next to Hao. It looked like even his underlings were afraid of him. I felt a shot of anger from the girl seating closest to Hao. She had long, blue hair and cold stare. She was not only angry, but jealous, as well. I concentrated harder to read her through.

_Here comes that girl. I hope she doesn't seat next to master Hao,_

Fine, I'll seat in the aisle or something. I don't want any troubles anywa-

_I mean, she doesn't seem strong at all, just another pretty face. I bet master Hao took her in out of pity._

On second thought, I will seat right,

"Here" I said as I slumped in the seat next to Hao. He chuckled slightly, knowing the reason I decided to seat next to him. I glanced at blue-haired girl. She was raging inside. Serves her right. I closed my eyes and decided to block her out. Too much negative energy.

I realized I was completely exhausted. I hadn't slept for the past two days.

I tried as hard as I could to fall asleep, but this stupid seat was making it impossible for me. This is frustrating. How come most of the people in this goddamned plane are asleep? My head is beginning to hurt and I'm known for getting sick in any kind of vehicle. Guess I don't have another choice...

I raised the hand rest that divided Hao's seat and mine and placed my head in his lap. Small gasps came from every direction as soon as my head came in contact with his body. Demeaning, I know. I think everyone was expecting him to fry me right there, and as soon as he raised his hand, I thought so too. But instead he just removed a few strands of my hair that had fallen in my eyes. Then he crossed his arms like before and kept on like nothing was happening.

_THAT BITCH!_

_I'M GONNA KILL HER!_

_#$%^&*()_!_

I laughed internally before drifting of in slumber.

I had the most wonderful dream. I dreamt I was in the plane, but suddenly, it vanished and we were all falling through the sky. The cold breeze felt amazing against my whole body. Then someone placed an arm through my waist, preventing me to fall any further. I open my eyes slowly and shrieked when I realized I wasn't dreaming. We were really falling. Fast.

"You're finally awake." Said Hao, smiling his aloof smile, even though we were probably falling about a thousand miles per hour.

So he was the one holding on to me...

"You can let go now." I said irritated.

"So you are not a morning person, I see." He was right. "Do you see that group over there?"

"Aren't' they the ones you were fighting against in the air base?" I said as I spotted a bunch of familiar faces. "What is that boy trying to do with that snowboard?" Horo Horo was on top of his board and was actually planning to stop the fall with it.

"They are lower shamans," explained Hao. "They have such a small amount of furyioku that it's pathetic." He said 'it's pathetic' loud enough for them to hear. How childish. But of course, he got the reaction he was expecting. They all turned around.

"Your little furyoku won't suffice. You will be squashed at the bottom." What did Hao obtained in provoking them?

Horo Horo was the first one to talk back.

"What? You dare..." he shouted, but the sound of the wind made it hard to listen.

"My spirit is capable of flying for a long period..." and he bragged on. This was getting old. He is stronger than all of us, we get it.

After a brief exchange of insults and comebacks, I could finally see the ground, but the other group still hasn't figured out how to land. This is sad, I might as well help them a little.

I stared right at Hao's look-alike until he looked at me back. Then I mouthed:

_Release all you furyoku._

He looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled and mouthed a _thank you_ back at me.

Then the spirit of fire began flying in a different direction, instead of falling.

"Why aren't we landing?" I asked Hao.

"Why should we? I hate walking long distances." he said as he laid on his back, closed his eyes, and placed his hands over his head. "And by the way, why did you helped Yoh and his team?" Heh, so he noticed.

"I told you before. I don't work for you so I do what I please." then I placed my head over his in order for him to look at me. "I was doing you a favor, anyway. You are really interested in that group, so I just made sure they make it through the first round."

"It's pretty obvious, isn't it." He smiled. I wanted to know more, but instead I laid next to him.

"If you stay with me, I'll tell you all you want to know." He said as he turned to his side to face me. I didn't answer, so he spoke again. "If you hate me, why don't you just leave?"

"Because I don't hate you. In fact, I get to rest when I'm by your side."

"How is that?"

"Well, I can't read your feelings like I do with everyone else. It's like being in a silent room. I finally get to breath." I explained. "And even if I don't know what you are thinking, I get the feeling you are not hiding anything at all."

He began to laugh. "You are so interesting. The fact that I can't read your mind makes me wonder what are you thinking all the time." he said.

"So I'm interesting?" I asked.

"That's right."

"So what if I decided to jump from here right now?"

"I wouldn't stop you. You don't work for me after all."

I smiled. "That's good to know."

**That's it! Thank you all for reading and please check out my other fanfic 'Child of destiny'.**


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry for the late updates! I've just not been in the mood to come up with something interesting :S Anyway, please read and enjoy! Kisses! Oh, and check out my other fanfic 'Child of Destiny'.**

**I do not own Shaman Kings, btw, just Alessia, the OC.**

We traveled for years, or so it felt like. As you may guess, I never really belonged to Hao's group, but then again, the others wouldn't talk to anyone outside their little cliques. It was totally fine by me. Most of them radiated negative feelings most of the time, so I just kept my distance.

Hao was usually the one who would sit by me, walk beside me and stuff. A little girl called Opacho was always stuck to him. She was nice, though. Too pure and innocent to be hanging around this jerk.

The thing I found odd was that sometimes Hao would take off for a while, leaving the rest of us in the camping spot until he returned. He usually came back with a wide grin in his face. Even if I wouldn't admit it, it made me curious. Somehow I knew he had gone to see Yoh and his gang.

"Want to come with me?" He offered once, but I refused. It was way too much trouble. If I get seen too much around this fellow, people will began targeting me as well, and as I said before, it is way too much trouble.

The day we arrived to the entrance of Dobie village, Hao told everyone else to go ahead of us and wait when they get there. I began to walk with the rest of the group, but he held my wrist.

"Not you." he said. Everyone turned around to see what happened, but continued to walk when they saw Hao's glare. "Keep walking" he ordered. When he saw everyone was already gone he turned to me. I honestly expecting him to say something like 'I'm leaving you here. Bye' and then leave. But what happened was quite different.

"As you may already know, Alessia, you are not a participant in the shaman fight. Therefore, your way of getting into Dobie village is different than the other's." he explained as he took a few steps forward.

"If it's too much trouble, I'll just fund my way back home." I wasn't going to go through any trial or something.

"Don't be silly. You know I won't leave you here." He placed both hands on my shoulders and held my steady. I felt my face getting a little hot. "Look, this may hurt a little, but trust me, this is the only way." Sadness struck his face.

"Huh?" Then I understood what he said. He tightened the grip on my shoulder and kneed me in stomach. That's right. He. Kneed. Me. Pain shot through my whole abdomen, and for a second I couldn't breath. I gasped in pain.

"Why did you-" But I couldn't think any longer, I just allowed myself to fall limb and eventually lose consciousness. The last thing I remember is Hao placing a hand on my back and the other under my legs to carry me.

Embarrassing.

When I opened my eyes I was laying in a bed that might as well be made of stone. My back was stiff as a wall, and when I tried to sit up, pain shot through my stomach. It must be evening because outside was already dark.

"Ouch..." I raised my shirt to see what caused that, and sure enough there was a bruise the size of softball right above my bellybutton.

"What the hell..." Then I remembered. Hao.

"So you are up." He was sitting in a dark corner with his legs and arms crossed.

"Yeah, Hao. Thanks for worrying." I said as I struggled to get out of bed and walk into the bathroom. I stood in front of a mirror to take a better look at the damage. As I suspected, it looked worst than I thought. Then Hao's face appeared next to my reflection.

"Sorry about that. There was no other way." Then he placed a small jar in my pocket.

"That will help with the swelling. You look like a mess. Wash up and we'll be waiting for you in the restaurant next door." He said as he patted my head. Then he left.

Oh, I'll wash up, all right. But I won't be going to your stupid dinner.

I just took a quick shower and brushed my hair. Then I slipped out of the hotel carefully so Hao and the others wouldn't see me.

_So this is Dobie Village. _The streets were filled with souvenir shops and small restaurants. Shamans were everywhere even though it was night. I stopped at a teashop to drink something warm.

"I'll have a small green tea please." I said to the guy in the counter.

"It will be 2.50." He said as he placed a steaming cup on top of the counter. I searched my pockets to find some cash, but unfortunately I had none. I could feel the man's annoyance.

"Here." said someone as he handed the money. I turned around and saw Yoh, smiling at me.

"Thanks, but I don't like owing people. Just keep your money."

"It's okay, really. I'm the one who owes you. Remember?" Oh, that's right. I told him how to land safely. Well, since he is insisting and I'm freezing...

"Thank you." I murmured.

"No prob." He replied. "How come you are not with Hao?"

"What am I? His lapdog?" I said as I sipped my tea. We had walked over to a bench outside and sat for a little while.

"Well, I get the feeling that all of you guys look up to him or something. Like you owe him." He sighted.

"I do owe him."

"I thought you didn't like owing people."

"That's why I'm with him. I'm repaying him." Awkward silence.

"Hey, have you seen a green haired boy? We have been looking for him. His name is Lyserg." He changed topics abruptly

"Nope."

I was getting a little tired of this conversation and was about to leave when another familiar face walked towards us.

"What are you doing, Yoh? Said the little man, irritated. "She was with Hao, remember?"

"Don't be like that, Ren. She is not a bad person." With this remark, the spike at Ren's head grew taller.

"Everyone is a good person in your eyes." He snapped. Okay, it's time to leave.

"I'll see you around, guys. I better get going."

"Wait!" Said Ren. I halted, but didn't turn around. "What's your name?" He asked suspiciously.

"Alessia." I answered coldly because, well, I was freezing.

"Here." He said as he walked over and handed me one of my darts. "This is from the last time we met. Thank you, but I don't need anyone looking out for me." Somehow, I felt like he was scolding me rather than thanking me.

"Excuse me for saving your sorry ass. Next time I'll just let Hao kill you."

"Hey-" He began, but I was already too far to listen.

I had been walking for a while now, and noticed there was no noise from the village anymore. All I could see now were trees. When did I enter a forest? I'm one of those people than, even with map, are bound to get lost.

My fingers were numb with cold and my cheeks were burning. Then, I felt a wave of sadness. Someone must be close. I don't know why, but I felt the urge to see the one who was feeling such a grief. I followed my instinct until I reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. In he middle, was a small boy.

As I got closer, I realized his feeling were more complex that I first thought. The sadness was mixed with anger and a little bit of guilt.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I sat next to him. He looked up, but did not answered.

His hair was green and he had really girly features. This must be the boy Yoh is looking for.

"People are looking for you, you know?" I tried again. Damn, why do I even bother?

"I do know. I just need some time to think."

"About what?" He looked surprised that I was interested. So was I.

"My revenge." His eyes suddenly turned dark. I knew that was an attempt to scare me away, but such a girly by won't make me run and hide.

"Let me guess. Hao?" I asked.

"That's right." Then he shot me a look. "You don't work for him, do you?"

"No." I said immediately. I'm not lying. I really don't work for him.

"Oh, okay." He relaxed "I was just thinking that maybe Yoh and the others won't be able to help me on my mission. It might be better if I found someone else."

"Like who?" At this stage of the fight, who would team up with him? Everyone should already have his or her teams made up.

"The X-Laws." His eyes lit up a little.

"The what? Wait, don't answer that."

"With them, I feel safe. Stronger." He explained. "The iron maiden Jeanne is a truly admirable shaman. I think I'll fight for her. She has pure motives. It makes me believe that I will really be able to kill Hao and his followers."

"What do you have against the followers?" I asked. I don't know why, but I was feeling defensive about his last statement.

"They support Hao. They fight for him." He looked at me as if I just asked something stupid.

"I do not agree with Hao's plan to destroy humanity, but aren't you just the same as his underlings?" I asked. Lyserg shot up and clenched his fists.

"Don't compare me to them! We are nothing alike!" he shouted.

"Well, from my point of view, you are pretty similar. You are both working for someone you think is you hero, you are both willing to kill people in the process, and you both have your ideals." I tried to explain.

"It's not the same! The maiden Jeanne only kills sinners."

"What makes her think she can judge others? Is she God or something?" Lyserg's face was getting brighter which each word. He was truly mad.

"You know what? I-" but he was cut off by a group of guys who appeared out of nowhere.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Asked one of them smirking. "What is a couple of young shaman doing so far from the village?"

"Leave us alone." said Lyserg.

"Unfortunately, we can't do that, kid." the man answered. "If we finish you right here, there are more probabilities of us winning the tournament."

Oh shit. I reached for my pocket, and realized I hadn't brought my weapons along with me. I only had the dart Ren returned to me.

They were around ten and we were just two. Only one, actually, since I can't really fight. I caught one of the shamans staring at me.

"Hey! She is the girl Hao was carrying when he arrived!" he shouted while pointing at me. Lyserg shot me a look.

"You said you didn't worked or him! You lied!" He spitted.

"Technically, I didn't. I don't really work for him, I'm just...tagging along." But before I could finish, Lyserg shot some kind of cord to the branch of a nearby tree and managed to get away from the group of people.

"You are on your own." He said before escaping. What a coward!

"Looks like you just got dumped by your boyfriend." Some one the men laughed. They began to walk slowly, closing the circle.

The first one to attack was a short blond guy, not too tough looking. He had a huge hammer, which glowed with his over soul. He swung the thing as if it didn't weight a single pound. I tried to dodge, but the hammer made contact with my stomach, just where Hao had kneed me.

I was sprawled in the ground, gasping for air, when the same guy grabbed me by the neck and suspended me in the air. I could feel consciousness slipping away from me.

Then another figure appeared in the clearing, a huge red spirit stood behind him.

"Good night, gentlemen. I'm afraid you are messing with my property." There was and edge of anger in his voice.

"Hao..." I managed to say before blonde guy smashed me against the floor. "I-I'm *cough* not e-even a damn c-competitor *cough*."

Hao walked towards me and kneeled.

"Stupid! It's far too dangerous for you to leave like that!" He shouted ay my face. Was Hao...mad at me? The guy sneaked up behind Hao and raised his hammer, ready to attack.

"How dare you ignore me like that? I'll show-" But he didn't get to finish that last phrase, because he combusted instantly.

"STOP!" I screamed at Hao, while clutching his robe. "Don't do this. Just let them go."

"Why?" he answered so coldly it scared me. "They tried to kill you and you want me to 'let them go'?" There was fire in his eyes.

I began coughing again, this time blood came out. "P-please."

"You are hurt badly. We should take you back to the village." For the second time, he carried me in his arms and began walking back to the village.

"But first..." Then flames suddenly consumed the other nine shamans left. After a little while, there was nothing left.

"W-why did *cough* y-you do that?" Hao placed a hand over my mouth to keep me from talking any longer.

He didn't even bother to answer. This was the first time I've seen him so angry. It sent chills down my spine.

"Where is the closest health center?" He asked with his teeth gritted together. I just shook my head in response.

"Fine. I'll just burn this forest down until I find the way back to the village." And he kind of did that. He only had to look in one direction and fire burned everything in front of us, making a path of about twenty meters wide.

"Show off..." I muttered, then closed my eyes and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

-Meanwhile-

"We should give up. Lyserg is nowhere to be found." Said Yoh with a yawn.

"I knew this was just a waste of time." says Ren.

"We're just doing this for Ryu, guys." encouraged Horo Horo

"Ugh, whatever." scowled Ren.

Yoh just threw his arms over his head and walked with half closed eyes.

"Something about that Alessia girl makes me uncomfortable." said Ren out of nowhere.

"You are right. There is something...different about her. Could it be the way she talks to Hao?"

"You are right!" interjected Horo Horo. "It's as if she didn't held any respect for her 'master'. I get the feeling she is not like the other slaves."

"Not as strong either." Added Ren. Then a small frown appeared in Yoh's forehead. "Then why did he recruit her? Or even listens to what she says?".

"Beats me." answered Horo Horo. Then a cloud of black smoke that rose in the sky took his attention. "Is that a fire in the forest?" he asked.

"I highly doubt it." Replied Yoh, who felt a strong spiritual energy, but decided it was better to not get involved. Then he pointed at a small ramen shop at one side of the street.

"Hey, let's go in there! We should take a break, and it's dinner time anyway." The other two companions nodded and headed into the restaurant.

They all ordered and sat back to wait for the food to arrive.

"What's going on outside?" someone who sat in the next table asked? Yoh, Ren, and Horo Horo peeked out of the restaurant to see what was the big commotion.

Outside, everyone was hurrying to get away from the street. Glares and scared expressions where on the faces of everyone who saw what was going on. It was Hao, with a girl in his arms and the spirit of fire following closely behind. He had the coldest glare in his eyes. They looked like they just came into the village from the forest. So that was no mere fire.

"Is that...?" said Horo Horo.

"Alessia." Finished Ren. "She looked really banged up."

"And Hao seemed angry." Added Yoh. "Should we go and take a look?" He had already begun to stand up from his chair, but Ren held his arms.

"We better don't, Yoh. She isn't even on your team or mine."

Yoh sat back down, but he still wondered.

_Why is he so angry about? I've seen him get rid of his underlings with a smile o his face._

**Thanks for reading! Please review on your way out:)**


	5. Chapter 4

**FINALLY CHAPTER 4 :D ENJOY!**

**I do not own Shaman King.**

"I can walk now." I protested.

"No. We haven't reached the health center yet." was all Hao answered.

"Put me down!" I tried again.

"No."

When we reached the health center, Hao didn't even bothered to register at the front desk or anything, he just walked into the first empty room he found and dropped me in a bed. Then he dragged in a nurse that was walking by and commanded:

"She's hurt. Do something about it. I'll be waiting outside."

"Y-yes, sir." the horrified nurse answered. When Hao slammed the door behind him, I immediately stood up and took off my clothes. After checking the damage, I remembered there was a pale-faced nurse behind me.

"You can leave. I'll take care of this myself. It can't be too serious." I said. She was too scared to do anything anyways.

"I can't do that. He'll kill me if I don't fix it properly. Besides, it's my job." She smiled pleasantly. Seemed like she was fine now. She proceeded to do a quick check up, and as I predicted, I was fine. Then she bandaged and disinfected any cut or scratch she found.

"What's you name?" she asked as she wrapped the major bruise in my abdomen.

"Alessia."

"Well, Alessia, you're pretty lucky to have such a strong guy care for you." I wasn't really sure how to answer that.

"Don't be naive. For him, I'm just a toy." I replied. I'm not sure why, but it kinda hurt, even if I knew it was the truth. The nurse let out a small giggle.

"Don't be so sure about that. Okay! It's done." Then she stood up and filled in some paperwork as I put my clothes back on.

"You are not a participant in the battle, are you? How did you get in a fight this late at night." she asked without looking up from the clipboard she was holding.

"That's what I get for hanging around that jerk."

"You should be careful from now on. I'm sure that by now more people know about your relationship with Hao. They won't let any opportunity of weakening him pass by."

"Thanks for everything. Bye." Then I headed out.

The nurse was right. Now that Hao publicly announced that I'm with him with that little parade of his, my life will be getting much more complicated. Sure, why not attack Hao's little pet? If that's the case, will he save me again? Am I more than a toy to him? He seemed pretty angry about that little incident tonight. Maybe he does care about me...

No. Stop right there. He is nothing to me so I better not get any wrong ideas. I have had enough disappointments in my life. I can't and I won't go through another.

I passed by the waiting room and there was Hao. Leaning against a wall with his eyes closed. I walked over and stood next to him silently. Yes, this is the kind of silence I have always been looking for.

"Everything all right?" he opened one eye.

"Yeah, I'll live. Now let's go." Then we both went to the exit. I was the first to break the perfect silence.

"I'm sorry about tonight. It was stupid."

"Glad to hear you admit it." he smiled back.

"But," I added. "It was wrong to kill all those guys. They are shaman just like you and me."

"You are wrong. They are nothing but filth. Just like humans." he said coldly.

"Every time you kill someone, a piece of your heart dies along with that person. So stop. You are only hurting yourself." I advised. Hah, like he would ever listen to me.

"You are just like your mother."

"What?" I asked bewildered. Did he ever meet my mom?

"Remember, Alessia, I will be shaman king, therefore, no one tells me what to do, including you." he said.

"I can try." I added with a smirk. He just laughed.

Back at the inn, all of Hao's slaves where all hanging around a small living room, either watching an old TV, or just sitting around. When Hao and I made our appearance, every single of their emotions hit me like a train.

_Where were they?_

_I bet that girl bothered master Hao again._

_She is too useless._

_Alessia is hot._

"Hello, everyone." Waved Hao. "Thanks for staying up so late waiting for our return."

The hateful blue-haired girl I met back at the plane smashed her fist against the wall.

"Why are you helping that little piece of shit? She can't even fight!" she shouted while looking at me hatefully.

"Little piece of shit, huh." I murmured. Hao just looked at me, as if saying 'don't mind her'. I was fine, really. Besides he knew I wouldn't get provoked so easily. On the background, 'Kanna' was shouting some more things I doubt had any merit. Hao was looking a little irritated.

"Kanna, calm down. I have my reasons." he said simply.

"But-" Kanna insisted. I thought that girl knew better than annoying her master.

"Kanna." Said Hao in an icy voice, "Are you questioning my motives?"

"N-no, master. I'm s-sorry." A pretty girl with blonde pigtails walked forward and placed a comforting hand on Kanna's shoulder. "I'm fine, Mari."

"Good." Then he turned to the rest of the crowd. "You should all go to sleep. Tomorrow we are flying to where the tournament will be held. Rest well."

Finally I would get the chance to rest completely alone. But before I could disappear into the crowd, a warm hand held my wrist. I was kind of expecting this, so I didn't get surprised when I saw Hao holding me.

"What?" I asked annoyed.

"You're coming with me." Everyone instantly turned their heads toward us. They were expecting some kind of explanation.

"No, I'm not." I answered.

"Then I'm going with you." I knew Hao wouldn't take no for an answer so I just played along.

"Suit yourself." Then Hao followed me all the way to my room. When we got there I sat in my bed and Hao in some excuse of a chair.

"What do you want?" I asked. I must admit I was quite curious.

"I'll stay here tonight." was all he answered.

"Why? Afraid one of your followers might kill me in my sleep?" I teased.

"Actually, yeah."

"Huh, that makes sense." Okay, this is awkward. I may not seem like it, but I am a girl. Isn't there some rule against girls sleeping in the same room as boys?

"Well, um, good night?"

"Sleep well, Alessia."

I felt like I slept five minutes. I would wake up in the middle of the night, and there was Hao. It was pretty uncomfortable. Anyway, when morning came I was in a pretty foul mood. The good news is that Hao was gone.

I remembered that today we were supposed to go to some kind of island, so I packed up everything and laid in my bed hoping to sleep al least five more goddamned minutes. Ironically, about thirty minutes passed and I wasn't even able to close my eyes. I was feeling a weird anxiety running through my body. Could it be I'm excited about the tournament? I'm not even in it!

_Knock, knock._

I just groaned in response. Yeah, I'm such a lady.

_Knock, knock._

"Just come in already! Even if this inn had the budget to buy locks for the door, I wouldn't bother to use it." Finally the door opened and a really tall man wearing a priest outfit came in.

"Luchist, " I had seen him speak several times with Hao. I bet he is one of his favorites along with that Opacho girl.

"That's right, miss. We are leaving already, so gather your things and follow me." I did as he ordered me and walked behind him.

"You are a lucky girl." said Luchist out of nowhere.

"Why?"

"Master Hao really cares about you. I have not seen him act like that for anyone before."

"Maybe he does, but it makes no difference." I said.

"Why is that?" he kept pushing.

"Because I don't care about him." Then I accelerated my pace so he wouldn't see through my lie.

Let me set something straight. It's not like I care _care _about him. To me he is like a really good book. Always making me look forward to what will happen next.

"We're here." he said from behind. "You have been assigned to fly with master Hao." He was holding my fly ticket and his in the other hand.

"Whom are you flying with?" I asked.

"With the Hana-gumi team."

"Great. We're switching places." I took his ticket instead of mine.

"Master Hao won't like this." He warned.

"Just tell him it was my idea. You'll be fine." I was fully aware of what is going to happen the moment I step in that plane with those crazy girls. Hell will break lose.

I was right, of course.

"No fucking way." said Kanna through her gritted teeth. She was already on her feet. Mari stood up as well and restrained her with one arm. Then she spoke.

"You shouldn't be here, Alessia."

"Look, just imagine I'm not here. I'll try to do the same." I offered.

"Watch it, bitch. Master Hao is not here to protect you." Kanna threatened.

"I don't need protection." I had already slipped my hand into my weapon pouch and had a couple of darts ready for attack. "Wanna see?" I dared. Kanna lost it.

"ASHCROFT!" she invoked her oversoul. A huge armor materialized in front of me.

_Now you'll see..._I thought. I threw two darts at each wall beside me. Then waited for the spirit to attack me.

"I'll finish you in one blow!" Kanna shouted.

"Let's see you try."

The armor lounged in my direction, but just before touching me, it froze. It was now trapped in between the darts I had thrown earlier.

"What the hell? Ashcroft, come back!" The spirit struggled to release himself, but it was futile.

"It's too late, now. He is now at my disposition. I'm an itako, remember? My specialty is the manipulation of spirits."

Kanna cursed under her breath. Her two teammates were ready to attack me, as well.

"One move and I'll send this spirit to heaven in less than a second. You won't be able to reach him there." I said pointing at dear old Ashcroft. "Who will fight with you then, Kanna?"

"You're bluffing. Master Hao will kill you." said Mari. My expression turned even more serious.

"Do not test me, girly. I can and I will do it if you make me." I warned for the last time.

Now they were scared. The three of them turned a shade paler.

"I was wondering who was causing such a ruckus." said a voice behind me.

"Master Hao!" the Hana-gumis said in unison. "That girl is threatening us with destroying our spirits!" Hao didn't seem to care, but either way he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Now, now, Alessia. Let the spirit go." he said.

"Why should I? They deserve everything that's coming their way."

"Please?" asked Hao again.

I held Kanna's gaze for a second before finally releasing Ashcroft. He silently flew back to his master's side.

It has been a while since I last used a powerful binding spell. I felt light headed and my heart was beating hard against my chest. Even if I was about to pass out, I felt powerful.

"Alessia, you don't look so well." Hao was suddenly by my side. Both of his hands where supporting my body.

"So that's all you've got?" smirked Kanna. With my last remaining strength, I ran to that bitch and punched her right in the face. My knuckles made a loud smack when they connected to her nose. Poor Kanna was now lying on the floor with a wide eyes and a bleeding nose.

"Medically speaking," Said Hao as he walked over, "I don't think that is the best for your condition." I couldn't help but grin.

"Funny, I feel better." I really felt better. My pulse had gone back to normal and I felt my head back on my shoulders. "Looks like I won't be going on this helicopter, after all. Let's go, Hao." I began walking to the exit. Hao followed me seconds after, but before his grand exit he turned to the Hana-gumi girls.

"There will not be second time." The girls just nodded firmly and we left.

I was lucky that Kanna isn't that smart, if she knew a little better, she woud have seen through my bluff. Sure, I could send a spirit to heaven, but it would have taken a few hours. More if the spirit was unwilling to leave.

When we boarded Hao's helicopter, the guy sat at the last row while I took a seat at the first row. If I was going to spend a million hours in this thing, I will spend them as far from him as possible.

**Thank you guys for reading! Please review on your way out. Suggestions are always welcomed.**


	6. Chapter 5

**I'm pretty impressed at myself right now because I wrote this chapter in one single day and it will be my second update of this story this week XD It was hard to write, though. Thanks to all my readers and please enjoy!**

**I do not own SK**

"We're so close to Tokyo." I mentioned when we arrived to the island. "I could swim back home if I wanted."

"Opacho doesn't think that's a good idea." Opacho. We were assigned to the same inn room.

"I'm just kidding." I giggled while I patted her head. This was the only person from the whole tournament I really liked. I was actually glad I was staying in the same room as her. It's a shame she idolizes Hao more than anyone.

"I'm I interrupting, ladies?" Peeked Hao from the door.

"Not really. Just hanging around." I replied. But Opacho began jumping excitedly and went right to her master's side. "Master Hao!" she exclaimed.

"The battle of Tsuchi-gumi is about to start. Want to go watch?" Offered Hao.

"Whom are they fighting against?" I asked.

"Against The Ren."

That's going to be one boring fight. "You know that your lackeys are going to lose this one, right?" I asked again while unpacking my bag.

"You may be right. But as their master, it's my duty to go watch. Are you coming?"

"You go first. I'll finish here before heading to the arena." The truth is, I didn't wanted to be seen walking with Hao to the stadium. Who knows? There may be a sniper just waiting to put a bullet in my head. Hao stared at me suspiciously, then turned around.

"I'll be on my way then." He said without looking back.

"Wait for me, master Hao!" followed Opacho.

"No, Opacho, you stay here and wait for Alessia." Opacho's eyes turned watery.

"Aw." She looked at the floor. When Hao saw this he kneeled and smiled at the little girl.

"I'm telling you this because you're the only one I can trust with the task of taking care of her." he said softly. So now I needed a babysitter who is actually a baby. Well, it seemed to work because Opacho's eyes lit up and she nodded firmly.

"Good girl. Then I'm off." and he was gone.

Half an hour later, I decided it was time to go see the fight as well.

"Okay, Opacho, let's get going." And we both began walking, making our way through the crowd. But something was off. I stopped for a moment to listen.

"What is it, Alessia?" Asked Opacho. Probably not out of worry, but out of impatience.

"You know what, Opacho? Go ahead of me. I have to use the bathroom for a sec."

"Okay." Then she left.

"So, what are you following me for?" I asked out loud. Sure enough a familiar green-haired boy came out from behind a door. He had a white uniform with a shield that said 'Laws' in his left shoulder. He had the coldest look in his eyes. Lyserg, I think was his name.

"Follow me." he ordered. It was probably the best thing to do since I was sure as hell that I wouldn't be able to fight him of.

But, of course, I had to prove my point the hard way.

"No." I answered flatly.

"You leave me no choice." He extended his arm in front of him and his pendulum came out faster than lightening. Before I could even notice, the same cord he used to escape that time in the forest surrounded me. My movements were completely restrained.

"Hm, you are no match for me." He said. Then he proceeded to drag me to wherever he wanted me to go. I mean, he literally dragged me on my butt down the road.

I was expecting to end up at the X-Laws headquarters now that he was part of that team, but instead, I found myself in some ugly storage room far from the village's center. He threw me on a chair without removing his pendulum.

What does he wants? If he wanted to kill me, he would have done it as soon as he saw me alone. He probably wants to get information out of me. Too bad I don't have any. I don't see other team members around, either, so this must be a solo mission. In fact, I bet he sneaked out to do this without anyone knowing. I know this because they would never allow a newbie to go on a mission by himself.

Okay, now that that is settled, I need to figure out how to get out of here. I know I can't fight, but I have a better idea. I started to search his mind for any feelings that could be useful.

This kid had doubt written all over him. I smiled inwards. I don't have physical strength. But getting into other peoples minds? I wrote a book on that.

Okay, let's start easy first.

"Hey, Lyserg, I've been wondering..." I began.

"You're probably asking yourself why I brought you here." He sounded like such a smart-ass.

"Not really." I answered playfully. "I was wondering, is that your real hair color or you just decided to dye it?"

Silence.

"Are you mocking me?" He asked defensively. This is almost too easy. I bet he is not stupid, but those feelings inside him are messing him up.

"I'm just saying. The next time you want to dye your hair green, just don't. It looks like you are growing grass on your head."

"Enough!" He smacked his fist against the wall. A few cracks appeared from under his fist. Yikes.

"Didn't your new teammates told you anything about it? By the way, I don't see them here..." Then I did an over dramatically gasp. "Don't tell me they don't know you're here."

He just grinded his teeth real hard. "I'll take that as a no. You'll be in big trouble."

"All I'm doing is for the Holy Maiden." He said in a low but sharp voice. "I need information on Hao, and you're going to give it to me."

"Even if I wanted, I don't know anything." I shrugged my shoulders. "Why don't you try Luchist? I bet he could be a better help than me on that field."

"You're lying! Don't add to your sin!" Oh, so now he was a saint. I don't care who he is, but I have him wrapped around my little finger.

"Why do you assume I'm lying or that I'm a sinner?" I asked completely serious.

"Because you follow that son of a bitch Hao." He screamed his lungs out.

"Have you ever seen me killing someone? Or even fighting at all?" I questioned him.

"No..." He muttered.

"And have you ever seen me following Hao's orders or calling him 'master' or 'lord' or whatever?

"That has nothing to do with this." was his answer. "I've seen you next to him before."

"Oh really? So you think that every person is responsible for the evil deeds committed by the one walking next to him? That is one messed up logic, Ly."

"Don't make fun of me..." said Lyserg. At this point, he was just plain pathetic.

"Lyserg..." I called him. This time completely serious. "Why are you with them? There are other people that really care about you." I said, remembering Yoh and the others.

"With the X-Laws, I believe I will defeat Hao." He said.

"Don't lie, stupid. You are doubting so much about your chances that I'm surprised you're even in this competition." He looked at me startled.

"How can you say that?"

"I can read feelings. That's one of my abilities." I admitted.

"How can that be?"

"You're just with the X-Laws cause you don't believe in yourself at all." I continued.

"LIAR!" He covered his face with one hand. _Are those tears?_

"I bet they don't even trust you. If they did, why would you have to do this behind their backs? They are just using you." I said louder.

"STOP!"

"NO! Listen to me, Lyserg! You are losing yourself!" I was shouting now.

This time he stayed silent. He removed my restrains and then slumped in the floor.

"Just go..." He whispered. Now he was sobbing audibly. I stood there watching him, and tears came to my eyes as well. This is a side effect of my special ability. Feelings that are too strong affect me too.

I rubbed my arms and noticed scarlet lines all across my forearms. Looks like that damned pendulum sliced through my skin.

Before finding the exit, I said to the miserable buy in the floor.

"I meant what I said before. Just...think about it." And I left.

When I walked outside, I noticed I was completely lost. It will take me decades to find my way back. But I decided to walk anyway. It took me two hours to find my way back to the village, and half an hour to find the inn.

When I walked into the room, Hao was sitting in my bed while Opacho was sleeping soundly.

"I was beginning to worry." He smiled.

"Yeah right. Move aside." Then I sat next to him.

"Where were you?" He asked.

"No where." He chuckled, but all humor vanished when his eyes fell on my arm.

"What is that?" He touched my arm slightly. I flinched.

"I fell." I said lamely. He began examining and touching my entire arm until he reached my hand, where he placed his.

"I'm sorry.," he said.

"Don't be such a narcissist. Not everything that happens in this earth is because of you." I tried to comfort him.

"This was. I should have known people would start targeting you from the beginning."

"Please stop. You are freaking me out. This is so not like you." I said, hoping to lighten the mood. This made him smile his usual smile.

"I'm never like me when I'm around you."

"Huh?" What does that mean?

"Never mind. Just wash those cuts and go to sleep." He ordered.

"How was the fight?" I remembered I missed all the show this afternoon.

"Just as you predicted."

"Told you." I smirked. "Now go, I'm going to change." I pointed at the door.

"Good night." He stepped out of the room and closed the door carefully behind him.

Next morning, Opacho wok me up by jumping on my back.

"Wake up, Alessia! Opacho wants you to wake up!" She was getting louder and louder.

"I'm up..." I grunted, but I just stayed in bed.

"No, you're not! We're going to be late to the fight!" She scolded.

"I don't give a damn about the fights. Just wake me up when Hao is finally crowned winner." Then I threw the sheets over my head.

"Come on, today the X-Laws are fighting!" This made me sit up immediately.

"X-Laws?" I asked to make sure I've heard right.

"That's what Opacho just said." Opacho said angry.

"Okay, Okay. We're going."

"Hurry, the others already left!"

"How nice of them to wait for me." I said sarcastically.

"But they didn't wait for you. Opacho just told you they left." She replied, not quite getting the sarcasm.

"I'm ready. Let's go." I ran all the way to the stadium. Hao and the rest of his followers where taking up nearly half of the seats. Not because they were so many, but because they were surrounded by a two-meter radius of empty seats. Everyone must be too afraid to seat even close to them.

I looked around trying to find available seats in the rest of the place, but with no luck. I ended up having to seat next to Hao himself.

"So you made it this time." he told me.

"Wouldn't miss it fo rthe world."

"You seem kind of interested in the X-Laws." he looked at me curiously.

"Maybe I am."

Then the referee or whatever he was began talking through the microphone.

"Everybody! The second fight will now begin!" The whole stadium burst with cheers. "And now introducing The Niles!"

The Niles, as their name said, were dressed with the whole Egypt theme. One of them even had a friggin pyramid in his head. Then the announcer pointed to the other corner of the arena.

"They will be fighting against the mysterious X-Laws!" Once again cheers flooded the place.

Sure enough, Lyserg was there. He looked different than yesterday. Was he more...confident? Next to him stood a man with glasses and one of those torturing devices thingy. I think it's called an iron maiden.

"What the heck is that?" Shouted the announcer. "It appears to be a coffin. Is it one of the contestants?"

"Hooo." exhaled Hao. He was supporting his head with one hand. "With the sudden appearance of the X-Laws, looks like something special will happen." _What is he talking about?_ Then he continued. "So the X-Laws' boss is inside that iron maiden. But the interesting thing is that after eight years, that boy finally joined the X-Laws." He was obviously talking about Lyserg.

"Your reputation isn't helping anyone, you know?" I elbowed him in his arm. He let out a mischievous laugh. "This is exciting."

The Niles were looking pretty confident for a someone who is about to get owned. The difference on their furyoku is just way to different.

"So they are the X-Laws?" said the one with a pharaoh's head. "But they are only a single man, a kid, and a strange metal thing. This is going to be apiece of cake!"

The X-Laws didn't take that comment pretty well.

The pharaoh then began talking some crap about their Egyptian magic being the best and blah blah blah. Finally the man with glasses shut them up.

"Are you done talking? I don't care what your reasons are, we're here for justice. Unless you are trying to fight us by talking." The other team snapped.

"Please cease. The one at fault was thou, Marco." said a voice that came from the iron maiden. "Vile words are the root of evil." Marco looked pretty embarrassed and apologized to her lady.

The whole stadium was surprised about the coffin's ability to speak.

Then the iron maiden made a strange request. It looks like it wants Lyserg to fight alone against The Nile. Interesting indeed.

Lyserg took a step forward and blushed a little. "Understood. I don't have much confidence in myself, but if you believe in me, that is enough."

"Woah! Lyserg is all fired up and the iron maiden is letting him off the leash! Who can tell which will win? All right, let's get it on! Shaman fight! Ready! F-"

I don't know what really happened, but pyramid-boy from the other team was already down. His whole Egypt regalia were smashed into pieces.

"You bastard! So you use a projectile!" Spitted a man with an Anubis helmet. _He is going down next, huh,_

"There is a mummy inside your coffin media isn't it. Sorry." Then just as the first one, the coffin shattered like sand.

"Haw dare you?" raged the third Nile's member. He was talking big even if he was running for his life right now. Lyserg hadn't even broken in sweat yet.

"You can't run from my pendulum any more." Just as he said, the pendulum had trapped the enemy and was suspending him in mid air. Poor guy was shaking.

"What is this? You don't actually plan to-"

"Just like that mummy, I'll slice you into a thousand pieces. That is my justice." Interrupted Lyserg. Then he looked at the crowd and smiled a sad smile. Once again tears where running down his face. "I'm sorry, Yoh. Being gentle never saved anybody."

I was expecting a rain of Egyptian confetti, but that never came. The man had only a few superficial cuts and scrapes, but was still tied up.

"Anatel! Anatel, are you okay!" Cried his teammates.

"I won't kill you," explained Lyserg. "I just wanted to scare you. Leave now. This is a maych. If you don't give up I'll be forced to finish my job. I guess you have families? Me and my companions have lost those dear to us, therefore, we understand that feeling."

Now would be a perfect time for those three idiots to run back to their homes.

"In the depth of my being, I really don't want to do it. But if three victims can help save the world, I'll have to do it and move on. Kindness won't help anyone. That is my sense of justice!"

That kid has officially gone mad. If he reaches his goal through murder, I will not forgive him...

"Hahaha!" Hao was laughing really hard while looking through some binoculars. "He's really funny. Yoh is really something!"

"Master Hao" Said Luchist.

"What? I'm looking at a funny situation. Wanna see too?" He offered.

"I want to see. Give me those!" and I snatches the binoculars from Hao. He laughed once again. "Knock yourself out."

"It's not that, master Hao." kept talking Luchist as if someone even cared.

"What? Something boring again..." grunted Hao.

"You are such a kid," I muttered while still trying to find what was so funny.

"It's not boring! They just keep talking about master Hao as if he was an assassin with so much lack of respect!"

I saw nothing of my interest so I just gave the binoculars back to Hao.

"So what?" Asked a bored looking Hao.

"What? That boy knows nothing about you and he has a the nerve to judge you!" Luchist kept nagging,

"Leave that trash as it is. The truth will keep being the truth. If you want my opinion, it doesn't even matter."

"Just stop making a scene, Luchist. It's such a drag." I yawned.

"You insolent little-" he talked back.

"Insolent little what, huh?" I dared him to keep on talking.

"Luchist, be careful with what you say." Interrupted Hao.

"Y-yes, master Hao." Then he went back to his seat like a little scolded puppy.

I had almost forgotten there was a fight going on down there. Anatel was still kneeling on the ground, shaking.

"I'm afraid. I've never been so humiliated in my life. I can't bare it..."

"Oh God, are you serious?" I asked, completely disappointed, even if it was already decided who would be the winner from the beginning. But he stood up slowly.

"That self-sufficient attitude, the white uniform, the steel. I'm starting to really hate the X-Laws." he said.

"Anate, stop." urged his teammates. "What can you do with those arms?"

"So what? We are shamans decedents of royal bloodline! If we lost, I wouldn't be able to face our lord ever again!" He was holding hi weapon with his teeth. Brave, but pointless. "THE WINGS OF DEATH!"

Huge stone wings appeared from his back, while he just kept up screaming about sending the X-Laws into eternal damnation.

"Anatel, stop! This is just a match! You mustn't use that spell!" But Anatel just kept going.

"It's s shame." Lyserg said sadly. "You could have been saved. Now I'm forced to kill the spell caster." He threw his pendulum in Anatel's direction.

I was sure he was going to die this time, but I felt something once again. Lyserg's doubt.

"He's doubting. He won't kill him." I muttered to myself.

"Huh?" Asked Hao.

Just as I predicted, Lyserg fell to the ground, barfing his guts out.

"Why won't you attack, Morphin? Pleas, attack." begged Lyserg. But the pixie just stood there while he still coughed. "Please, I'm begging you. Or else I'll end up..."

Of course, Morphin wasn't the one at fault here. It's weird, but I was a bit glad that beneath that bravado, there was still a speck of Lyserg left.

**THAT'S CHAPTER 5! As you can see, I think Lyserg is a pretty sad character. I don't really like him, but I think he deserves a chance. Sorry for a terrible ending, guys. I just don't want too long chapters, you know? Please review, and thanks once again for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, everyone. I wanted to say that I'm so so sorry for stopping this story a long time ago. Just today I was checking my computer files and found 'Sweet Escape'. I remembered how much I liked it and decided to continue writing it. Please continue to read my story and thanks A LOT. My readers mean the world to me. Enjoy! :)**

Everyone walked out of the stadium silently after the fight between the X-Laws and The Niles ended. I can't blame them because I, as well, found the fight utterly morbid. The last thing I remember was the Jeanne girl torturing her enemies to death. _So much blood..._I recalled, _just like when mother was killed._

"You don't look so well, Haniel." noticed Opacho. "You are really pale." I could feel Hao's gaze on me.

"I'm just a little weak against blood. Just forget about it." Then I walked ahead of everyone.

Damn it. I felt like my breakfast was going to make reappearance. I manage to get to a trash can just in time before I puked my guts out. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Asked a female voice. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Macchi, from the Hanagumi team.

"Just fine." I muttered between coughs.

"Yeah right. I'll wait until you're done there."

When I turned around five minutes later, she was still standing there. She was leaning against her broom with closed eyes. When she heard me she regained her posture.

"That was quite a show," she snickered. "Let's go. You need sugar in your system."

"Why?"

"Because, when your body is-" she began to explain.

"Not that, idiot. Why are you helping me?" I asked.

"Oh, that. Just 'cause." She shrugged casually. With that kind of explanation, I couldn't bring myself to trust her. But I still decided to follow her.

We arrived to a small restaurant with practically no one in it. We took a seat next to the display window. A patch official came to take our orders minutes later.

"I'll have..." said Macchi, with a frown in her face as she read her options. Then her face lit up. "The triple fudge, double layered, supreme sundae with extra whipped cream. Make it two." the waiter nodded and left toward the kitchen.

"How am I supposed to digest all that?"

"Believe me, you will love it!" she assured with a wink.

"So," I pushed my chair closer to the table and leaned my head in. "why are you really here with me? Did Hao made you do this?"

Macchi's face turned into a suspicious smirk.

"What if he did?" she asked in a threat-like voice.

"So he didn't, huh." I answered myself.

"How are you so sure?" she asked again.

"Because, if he had you would make everything in your power to make sure I know you are being forced to do this. And I am pretty sure he wouldn't bother with such a trivial matter."

Macchi broke in laughter.

"You are so smart, yet so dense!" she exclaimed as she held her belly. After she calmed down a bit, she said. "Nothing concerning you is trivial to him."

_Again with this._

Why does everyone think I'm his favorite? I even think he keeps trying to keep me away from everyone else."

"That's because he wants you all for himself. Our leader is pretty selfish, you see."

I almost laughed at this.

"Not a chance." I said in denial, while trying to think of a new topic. "Won't your teammates get mad at you for being with me?"

"Why would they? It's not like they can choose who I hang out with." she said calmly.

"Really? I though you were like, I don't know, Siamese or something."

Macchi snorted.

"As if. The truth is that Kanna and Mari are like this." She twisted two fingers together. "But I just hang with them because we're like the only girls around. Until you came in, that is. I just hate the way Mari idolizes Kanna."

I stared blankly at her.

"Is it that hard to believe?" she asked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Whatever." then our food arrived.

When we were done eating, it was already dark outside.

"It was pretty good, huh?" asked Macchi referring to the food.

"It was okay." I said in a monotone. _It was way more than okay._

"So you want to head back or what?" asked Macchi.

"Um, sure." I sighted.

"I heard that tonight there's a party or something."

"What are we celebrating? The blood bath that happened this afternoon?" I asked bewildered.

"Actually, today is Hao's birthday."

"Are you serious? He doesn't seem like the type of person that celebrates his birthdays."

"He isn't. But the rest of us are. It's not such a big event. There are only lots of food and sake. Last year Luchist ended up stripping for Kanna." Recalled Macchi while laughing.

"Let's go then. It's not like we have a choice."

We arrived to the inn a few minutes later. Sure enough, there was a party going on. Empty sake bottles were scattered around the floor and loud laughs and screams could be heard from a mile away.

"This is most unexpected." I said.

"This is better than last year! Let's go have a drink!" Then Macchi grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me all the way to the bar.

"Um, I really can't drink. Every time I do-" I tried to stop her, but it was too late. Macchi had already stuck a bottle of sake in my mouth.

"Come on! Just have fun with the rest of us!" And she drank from the bottle she stuffed in me seconds ago.

My head was already kind of dizzy and I felt hot from the inside.

"Whatever, just hand me another bottle."

-Half an hour later-

"This is the best party ever!" I giggled while hugging Macchi. I didn't even know where I was anymore or what I was doing. I just knew it felt so right.

"It is, isn't it? You are unexpectedly cute when drunk, you know that?" she laughed harder then me.

"Well, thank you." I replied with a small bow. "Oh my God! I totally forgot!"

"Forgot what?" asked Macchi while refilling her empty cup.

"I didn't wish Hao a happy birthday!" I said dramatically, as if I had just committed a horrible crime. Macchi looked just as outraged as I did.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Then she pushed me through the crowd until we spotted Hao. He was sitting alone with a glass of sake in one hand and his eyes closed.

"Okay, here I go!"

-No one's POV-

Alessia stumbled her way to Hao and slumped in the couch next to him.

"Alessia? I didn't expect you here." He said as relaxed as always.

"Are you crazy? How could I miss the birthday of our dear 'master'" Then she giggled hard.

"Are you...drunk?" Asked Hao.

"Moi? Of course not." Her head was spinning so hard that she fell on Hao's lap.

"Maybe I am a little." Sighted Alessia. She was half expecting for Hao to push her away, but he simply placed a hand on top of her head. "Oh! That's right! I came to wish you a happy birthday!"

"For me, age is merely a number. Whether I'm older or younger is completely irrelevant. Don't concern yourself with something like that."

Alessia could feel her eyes closing while Hao stroke her hair softly.

"You are really spoiled while under the effects of alcohol." chuckled Hao.

"Really? Isn't normal for girls to act like princesses?" Laughed Alessia.

"Not for you." Replied Hao.

There was a moment of silence.

"Hao?" called Alessia before falling completely asleep.

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you a secret." With all her might, she sat up and whispered into Hao's ear. "Today is my birthday, too." she giggled.

Hao's eyes widened in suprise. "Is that so?" he asked.

Alessia just nodded her head. "Today is also the day my mom died. Did I ever tell you how it happened? Not like I could either. I remember most of it, but there is something missing. Like part of my memory was taken from me. Stupid right? In fact, I tried my hardest not to remember it was today..."Alessia's eyes turned huge and sad-puppy like. She looked just like a little girl that didn't got what she wanted on christmas.

"Let's leave that story for another time, okay? Just go to sleep."

Alessia obeyed and in matter of second she was already asleep.

Hao carried her softly and placed her on her bed. Before leaving he leaned toward her and whispered.

"Happy birthday, princess." He kissed her forehead and left as silently as he entered.

He walked through the noisy and drunk crowd and headed for his room. There he sat in the window for a long while.

"She is growing to be just like you, Hikari-san. Soon it will be time to tell her, right?" Hao said to the sky. "I wonder how will she take it."

-Alessia's dream-

_I'm sitting in the middle of today's fight. The Niles were being tortured all over again and blood was pouring out from everywhere. I turn around to see the crowd and everyone is laughing, like it's a damn comedy show._

_I jumped from my seat to help The Niles, but suddenly, I'm not in the arena anymore. I'm in the middle of the street. Ambulances and police cars are everywhere, but what shocked me the most was my mother's body, which laid lifeless a few feet from me._

_This is the day my mother died..._

_I look around, but there is no one there. No one to help me. _

_"It's all right." I heard a voice from behind. "I'll help you. You will be fine."_

_It was a boy speaking. He was around my age, but he seemed older somehow. He had long brown hair and a serious face. Like he was mourning my lost._

_"W-who are you?" I said in while sobbing._

_"It's all right. You'll be all right."_

_"How can you say that?"_

_But the boy had already left, and everything was dark._

**"Alessia!" I heard from the distance. "Alessia, wake up!"**

I shot my eyes open and found myself in my bed**.**

"Macchi? W-what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? You where shrieking and screaming as if you were being tortured. What's wrong?" She asked. Suddenly I noticed a crowd of people in the entrance. Looks like I woke up the whole building.

"I-I'm fine." I lied. I had to sit on my hands to keep them from shaking.

"Are you serious? I mean, you are crying non stop." She reached out and wiped my cheeks with her sleeves.

"J-just c-call Hao, p-please." I stuttered.

"I am right here." He answered in a soft voice. He had been standing next to the bed this whole time. He turned to the crowd and spoke in his God-all-mighty tone.

"Leave us. If you dare to eavesdrop even for a second, I wouldn't worry about having to wake up tomorrow." Everyone left immediately, and he took a seat next to me.

"You were there. The day my mom died. That's what I couldn't remember." I was feeling angry and nervous at the same time. "Why?"

"Why I was there?" He asked.

"No. Why did you make me forget?" I asked coldly.

"Because I had to." he answered simply.

"Because you had to? What am I really doing here? Am I some type of game to you?" I said louder and louder. He jus kept silent.

"Why did you really ask me to join, Hao?"

"I knew your mom, Alessia." He finally answered. "I erased your memory because she asked me to."

"You what?"

"That's right. I met her around the time she died. At that time, I had lost a precious friend, and I felt a loneliness I've never felt before."

-Flashback-

It was pouring outside. The day almost as dark as night, but a boy sat alone in the sidewalk. He had a blank expression and his long hair fell messily over his face.

"What are you doing here boy?" asked a kind voice from behind. When the boy turned around, he saw a beautiful woman holding an umbrella over him. It didn't take long for the woman to sit next to him on the wet floor.

"Just wondering." answered the boy.

"About what?"

"I have this huge whole in my chest, lady. I don't think I'll ever be able to fill it out. Not even with all the power in this world. So I am wondering, should I just let myself fall into that whole? Should I just stop breathing at once?" said the boy melancholically.

"You are wise beyond your age, young shaman."

"That's because I'm older beyond my age."

"I see." The woman sighted. "In my opinion, you are alone because you are choosing to."

"How can you be sure of that?" asked the boy a little upset.

"Boy, you have a whole life ahead of you, unlike me, who is leaving this world soon. Giving up so easily is like trying to run away from everything. You should look to the future with a smile and with your head held up high. You never know when you'll find just what you where looking for." Then lady stood up but left the umbrella behind. "What is your name?"

"Asakura Hao." the boy replied.

"Well, Hao, I pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, good enough to die for."

And the lady disappeared.

-End of flashback-

"As she predicted, she died a few days later." said Hao. "And in the middle of the scene, I saw you. You were completely lost and shattered, just like me back then. And just like your mother helped me, I decided to help you. Your mother was one of those people, you know?"

"What people?" I asked defensively

"One o those people that give hope for others even if they don't have any for themselves."

I smiled a little. "I know, right?"

"I apologize for not telling you before, but I do not regret finding you." I said in a serious voice.

"I'm sorry, too. You didn't do anything wrong, it's just that my memories of my mother are a little...private. No one has ever had any contact with them."

"That's enough, princess. Go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He stood up and walked to the door. "Oh, and Alessia? Is there any chance that you remember what happened last night?"

"Not really. My memories are kind of fussy. Did something important happen?" I was curious now. Did I do something I might regret?

"Not at all. Good night." Then he closed the door behind him.

-Next day-

"Alessia, Alessia! Wake up! Is noon already." Macchi shook me violently.

"What is it..." I murmured.

"Wake up! It's important! I really need your help right now." Macchi sounded desperate, so I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Macchi, someone better be dying for you to barge in-" Then I noticed the tears in her eyes.

"Macchi? What's wrong?" I wiped her eyes with my sleeve."

"It's Opacho." She sobbed.

"Opacho? What's wrong with her?"

"She was taken. By the X-Laws." Then she buried her face in her hands and sobbed harder.

"WHAT? WHY?" I was already on my feet and scrambling around the room to find my weapons.

"T-today Master Hao fought against one of the teams from the X-Laws. It was...a shocking fight."

By shocking she meant violent and cruel.

"What are they planning to do with her? She is a little girl, damn it! And where the hell is Hao?"

"After the fight he locked himself in his room and hasn't come out. We should call him and-"

"There is no time to handle his weird mood swings. Did you meet the X-Laws? Did they tell you were to go?"

"I just found this letter outside." Macchi unfolded a piece of paper. "It doesn't have an actual address. It just says 'meet us at the shed'. Where is the 'shed'?"

Then it hit me. That is were Lyserg took me the time he kidnapped me. He knew I was the on that would receive the letter.

"Should we tell Master Hao?" Macchi sobbed. "I really don't think we should-"

"There is no 'we' here, Macchi." I interrupted. "You're not going with me and you're not telling Hao either. Please." I was almsot begging.

"Wait, you don't plan on-" Macchi tried to stop me, but it was too late. I was already on my way.


	8. Chapter 8

I was running furiously through the woods while I tried to remember exactly were Lyserg had taken me last time. When I heard steps behind me I stopped abruptly.

"Who is it?" I called. _Was I being followed by the X-Laws already?_

Then a familiar face appeared from the bushes.

"Macchi? Why the hell are you following me?" I asked furiously. "It's dangerous!"

"I can't let you go by yourself, Alessia! You're going to get yourself killed!" She looked at me straight in the eyes and placed a hand on my head. "Besides, if something happens to you, Master Hao would kill me."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes. "Lets go." In reality I was feeling kind of relieved that I didn't had to go alone to face them.

A few moments later we found the shed. I peeked form behind a tree and tried to look for some kind of ambush or something. I motioned Macchi to follow me and we slowly headed for the door.

"There is something weird about all this." Macchi mumbled. "I do not like it." And with that she took out her broom and readied for battle. I had forgotten Macchi was not that useless after all.

I stepped into the ugly shed and sure enough, Lyserg was there. But this time he was not alone. Apart from him, there was a second figure. Opacho was also there, tied against the very same chair I'd been tied before.

"Welcome, Alessia." Said that annoying Marco person. "I trusted you would come." Then he looked at Macchi. "But not with company."

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"Alessia, we just want to save your soul." Lyserg said happily. "Please, let us help you."

"Huh?" I said in disbelieve. "You want me to believe this whole kidnaping business is all about…my salvation?"

"It is, dear Alessia. Our Holy Maiden has decided to extend her mercy to you, who is lost among the shadows."

"What the-" Macchi said. Marco shot her a death look.

"You shut up, servant of Hao. Your evil deeds are beyond redemption." He snapped. "You should be grateful that I have not decided to kill you just yet."

"Oh, come on Blondie. I came here looking for some action, you know." She smirked.

"Insolent trash." He said with disgust.

"Right back at cha'." She was this close to starting a battle.

"Marco. Give Opacho back and we will leave." I proposed.

"I agree we should take the peaceful way to solve this, but listen to our proposal first." He fixed his glasses. "But first, I would like your 'friend' to leave us."

Macchi looked at me. I mouthed 'go' and she nodded back.

"Be careful" she whispered before leaving.

"Go on." I urged Marco to keep talking.

"I propose a deal between us." He began. "You will provide certain information for us, and we will give you something in return."

"And that is…?"

"A pass back home. Right away. You will not have to fear Hao since our Holy Maiden will defeat him soon enough. You would no longer be bound to all this bloodshed you despise so much. You think we didn't notice your reaction when the Holy Maiden disposed of those desert shamans?"

"I'm sorry, but I have no such a thing as a 'home' back where I came from." I chuckled.

"I was not referring to your former house. We could take you anywhere you wished. Far away from your father and step-mother if you wished…"

I tensed up at the last words. How much did these people knew about me? Then again, the word freedom didn't sounded so bad…

"What kind of information are you looking for? Something about Hao I suppose."

I asked.

"Exactly. Weaknesses, strength, anything that could help us bring his sins to an end." He said excitedly. "Have you finally seen the light Alessia?"

There was a moment of silence. A smile was starting to form in Lyserg's lips.

"No deal." I shook my head. "Kill me now if you want, but I will be a spy for no one."

Marco's expression turned grim. There were no more traces of mercy or of his so called 'light'.

"Very well." He turned his back to me. "You are free to leave with the girl. But I hope you are aware that from today onwards, we will have no mercy for you or anyone. You are as evil as they all are."

"Fine by me." I walked and took Opacho by the hand, but just before leaving, someone grabbed my wrist.

"Lyserg?"

"Please Alessia, think about it. You could be saved. You could be one of us." He begged. His eyes were sad and I could feel his honesty. He really believed in Marco's justice.

"I'm sorry, Ly." I pulled my hand from his grip. Before leaving into the woods I turned and said: "Think about who your real friends are Lyserg. Is this what you really want for yourself?"

He stood there with his eyes on the ground and I closed the door behind me.

"Do you think they will attack us?" Opacho asked while we walked away from the old shed.

"I don't think so." I said. Marco's emotions were calmed but obviously angry. He didn't felt threatening. "But lets hurry back. Oh, and Opacho? Don't tell Hao any of what just happened."

She looked at me for a moment but finally agreed to keep quiet.

"ALESSIA!" Macchi shouted when she watched us arrive at the inn. She had been sitting outside waiting for us. "Are you alright? God, I was expecting to see you all battered up. Are you sure everything's fine?

"Yeah, no prob." I said coolly. Opacho went running inside right away.

"Grateful little kid huh?" Macchi crossed her arms. Then she came closer and asked in a low voice. "What did those bastards wanted?"

"Nothing much…" I shrugged.

"Alessia, come on. I'm not that stupid." Macchi said. "If it is something regarding Master Hao's safety, I feel like we should know."

I had forgotten Macchi was one of Hao's faithful followers. I sighted and pulled her closer.

"Okay, listen closely." I told her the whole story form beginning to the end, but I left out the part where I gave Lyserg a small piece of advice.

"That son of a-" Macchi cursed. "I'm glad you refused to help him. To be honest, up until know I wasn't really sure whether you were on our side or not."

"There is something you should know, Macchi. I am not on anyone's side. I'm just sticking around because I feel like I owe Hao that much." I tried to explain without hurting her or anything.

"Well, as long as you don't do anything to betray Master Hao, everything is cool. Life is more fun with you around, honestly." She smiled. "Come one, we should go inside if we don't want people to notice we were gone."


	9. Chapter 9

I entered the inn casually and headed to my room. It was getting dark already. I sat on an old, wooden chair and threw my head back.

"_We could take you anywhere you wished."_ I remembered Marco's promise. There would be no more fights, no more conflicts, and no more hard decisions to make. But could I really betray Hao? If I did betray him, would he be hurt? Would he care?

I sighted.

When did this tournament become so damn complicated?

"You seem worried about something." Someone said. Funny, I didn't even notice him entering the room this time.

"Hao." I kind of greeted.

"What are you thinking?" He asked curiously. He was sitting cross-legged on my bed and facing in my direction. "Did something happen?"

Should I answer him with the truth?

"Nothing much. It was an unusual day, that's all." I shrugged.

"An unusual day, huh?" Hao smiled. Then there was a silence. "I fought today." He spoke again.

"So I heard."

"Against the X-Laws."

I lifted my head and looked at him. Somehow I knew that couldn't have turned out good.

"Did you killed them?" I asked.

"All three of them. Then consumed their souls afterwards" He answered. He was no longer smiling. His features had turned serious. What was he expecting me to say now?

"You know how I feel about killing people. What is the point in telling me?"

"I want to make you see who I really am, Alessia. I have killed many times before, and I will continue until a perfect shaman world is created. Do not create a different image of me in your head."

It was hard to admit, but I had forgotten Hao's reason to be shaman king. He wanted to eliminate all humans. What is it that I really want to do? Stay with him?

"If you want to leave, I will not hold you back. You are free to act according to your own will."

Marco's words kept repeating inside my head over and over again. But every time I tried to picture myself leaving, Hao's face kept popping up.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked him.

"What I want is irrelevant." He said instantly.

"It is relevant to me." What was I saying? "What are you saying all of a sudden? You brought me here in the first place."

"I know I did. But what if someone offered you freedom from all of this? Would you leave?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Wait." I stood up. Suddenly I knew why he was acting this way. "Do you know about what happened today?"

"Of course I did. Since yesterday." He smiled confidently. "I'm aware of everything that happens."

"Then why didn't you do anything before it happened?"

"I killed three members of the X-Laws, didn't I?"

"That's why you killed them?" What was wrong with this guy?

"Besides, I wanted to know your answer. Would you betray me and leave if you could?" Was that sadness I could see in his eyes? Impossible…

"If I had accepted the deal, I wouldn't be here right now." I sat back down. "Besides, I'm planning on making you change your mind about killing humans."

"You will only meet disappointment." He warned.

"Then so be it."

He stood up from my bed and stood before me. He carefully grabbed a strand of my hair between his fingers and took it to his lips. My heart froze and I could feel my face getting hotter.

"Um…Hao?" I asked. He placed the hair strand behind my ear and headed for the door.

"I'm happy you're staying." He gave me an easy going smile and shut the door.

"Yeah…me too." I murmured when he left.

-Next Day-

"What do you mean there are no matches today?" I asked while eating breakfast next morning.

"That is exactly what I meant." Luchist, who was sitting right in front of me said. We were sitting in the last table of the dining hall, far away from everyone else. To my defense, I was sitting here first; he just randomly appeared and sat there.

"Why?" I asked while wiping my mouth with a napkin.

"Because of yesterday's fight. Master Hao performed such a powerful attack that the arena suffered great damage. It is under repair." He sipped from his tea and placed the cup back in the table. "There is a reason why I came to speak to you today."

"I thought so. I mean, it's not like you to be a social butterfly." I crossed my arms and leaned back on my chair. The dining hall had suddenly turned silent and I noticed we were the only ones left in the room. Was that on purpose?

"As you may know, Master Hao will be the future Shaman King. Ha has everything carefully planned and he has surrounded himself with strong shamans that will help him get rid of his enemies." He began saying.

"Yeah, so?"

"So I have been wondering, why is it that he chose you? You are nothing more than a simple Itako. Not even powerful enough to defeat Anna." He paused and looked at me intently. I realized he was expecting me to answer.

"Look, I don't plan to figure out how your master's mind works. There is a reason he asked me to come along, yes, but that is between him and me. I don't see any reason to explain myself to you. If you want to know, ask him yourself." _But I doubt he will tell you anything about what happened between him and my mother. And who the hell is Anna?_

Luchist was getting angry. I could feel it. He tightened his grip around the teacup so hard that cracks began to appear on the porcelain.

"You have caused nothing but trouble since you joined us. Even during yesterday's match, Master Hao was restless for some reason, and I would not be surprised if it had something to do with you."

"This is ridiculous." I stood up to leave, but something stopped me and threw me back to the chair. "Did you just used your spirit to push me back?" Now Luchist wasn't the only one losing his patience. I slipped my hand into my pocket and grabbed one of my darts discretely.

"You do not leave until I am done speaking and you provide a clear answer. You are hiding something from us and I plan to figure out what is it. Just stay away from Master Hao. Something of great importance is coming and I do not want to see you messing it up." He warned me. _That's it_, I thought.

With one swift movement I pulled the dart out and whispered a quick chant. Then I threw it to the floor, right under Luchist's spirit. Seconds later the spirit was bounded by a golden chain and was unable to move or stop me from leaving. The spell would not last long since Luchist was quite strong, but it gave me enough time to get away form me.

"You little-" Luchist cursed but stayed seated. If he was smart, he would not do anything to upset Hao. "You may run away now, but this is not over. Remember what I said."

I'm pretty sure he said something else, but I was already to far to listen. I was not feeling in the mood to stay in the hotel anymore, so I just walked around aimlessly. I remembered something Luchist said. Something important is about to happen. Why didn't I knew anything about it?

"Alessia!" Someone called my name. I turned around and found Hao's clone waving at me. A boy with a huge afro and a blonde girl where right next to him.

"Yoh, what are you doing? She is the enemy." The girl said. She had a really cold expression. Funny, it kind of reminded me of mine. She wore a beaded necklace around her neck that definitely seemed familiar.

"It's okay Anna, she is a good person." Yoh smiled broadly. So this is Anna the itako? Then I recognized the necklace. It was the famous 1080 beads, a powerful spiritual weapon used to enter in trance and summon spirits. It was pretty similar to the bracelet my mother gave me.

Automatically, I felt tension in the atmosphere. Anna was strong, and I wasn't liking it one bit.


	10. Chapter 10

"So, what is your business with that girl?" Anna asked Yoh. Somehow we ended up sitting in a teashop near by. I didn't even noticed when the rest of Yoh's friends showed up.

I decided to ignore the ugly tone of voice she used to talk about 'that girl'. I could sense the discomfort of everyone in the table. Having tea with one of Hao's underlings must really suck. That Ren looked like he was about to slice my head open with his sword and a zombie-like man was creeping me out.

"She's just a friend, Anna." Yoh rested his head on one of his fists. The itako didn't say anything else. She just continued to observe me carefully from her seat.

Up until now, I hadn't noticed I couldn't read her feelings. She was just like Hao, impenetrable.

"If you don't have anything to say to me. I'll take my leave. It's not a good idea for us to meet anyway." I stood from my chair and dropped some money on the table.

"Master Yoh!" A hairy man with a strange hairdo came running to our table. He looked pretty beaten up.

"Ryu?" Yoh asked. "What's wrong?"

"Manta was kidnapped by the X-Laws! Lyserg came and took him while we were in the woods." He managed to say while gasping for air. When I heard the words 'X-Laws', I stopped on my tracks.

"He was what?" Horo Horo jumped to his feet.

"You're telling me Lyserg kicked your ass?" Ren raised an eyebrow.

_So Lyserg is around doing stupid things again, huh._

"Where did they take him?" Yoh asked. He was looking unusually calm.

"They said you had to go meet them at the Northern Waste Lands." Ryu explained.

"We have to go rescue him right away." Zombie man said.

"Faust is right. Let's go." Yoh stood up and everyone followed. "Anna?"

"Fine. Just don't get yourself killed and be back by dinner time." She said before leaving the shop.

"You're coming along too?" Ren asked. I just nodded. I don't know why, but this felt like the big event Luchist warned me about.

Even before we reached the place were they had Yoh's friend captive, I could feel like something was wrong. There was a high concentration of furiyoku, and it was still growing. Hao must definitely be around where somewhere watching this.

When we got there, I was shocked. The huge angel spirits, with Jeanne in middle, were standing in circle. They were slowly releasing their energies into a lighted crest in the floor. It looked like some kind of eye…

There was a small boy hanging from one of the angels. That must be Manta. I didn't know he was just a simple human…

"Marco!" Yoh shouted. "Release Manta!"

"I will." He said. "All you have to do is apologize to Lady Jeanne for having Hao's blood running through your veins and swear to fight for her sake."

_What an imbecile, if he really thinks Yoh will do that…_

"I will do it." Yoh said without hesitating. _Huh?_

"WHAT?" Everyone said in response. They weren't the only ones surprised.

"It's okay, guys." He smiled. Then he dropped his weapons and started to make his way towards the circle.

Was he really going to do this? He is going to get himself killed! Wait, Alessia. This is not your fight. Calm down and stay put.

"Yoh, don't!" Manta shouted from his cage. "I know their plan! It's a trap! They plan to open the Gate of Babylon and kill you with it so they can lure Hao!"

So that's their plan. What exactly is the gate of Babylon?

But Yoh just kept walking. Is Hao really going to allow the X-Laws kill Yoh? I don't know why, but I get the feeling Hao really needs his younger brother for something bigger.

"YOHHH!" The human boy shouted again. This time, something unusual happened. Spiritual energy began to grow within Manta's body. The cage that was restraining him shattered and he was floating in the air.

This boy managed to take control of a spirit even though he is just human? That is amazing. Too bad the spirit was weak. In matters of seconds, he had no more energy left and Manta began free falling right into the ground.

"MANTA!" Yoh shouted. I was about to run and try to catch the boy, but Ryu beat me to it. He caught him using a huge spirit chariot with several snake heads.

"Don't let Yoh Asakura escape!" Marco ordered. One of the angels charged at Yoh.

"Yoh!" Horo Horo and Ren called. They grabbed Yoh's weapons from the floor and threw them to him. He was able to join his samurai spirit with the swords just in time to stop the blow that was directed at him.

Suddenly, everyone was fighting. I stood there in the middle of the battle field not quite sure of what to do. _Should I fight again the X-Laws too? But this is not my fight. Then again, I can't let Yoh get killed. It's just not right…_

"Alessia watch out!" Yoh shouted at me. The sword of an angel was a few meters away from my head. I jumped out of the way and the hit missed me by an inch. Guess this answers my question.

I took a couple of darts from my pocket and threw them at the spirit that attacked me. The darts released a powerful electric current and the spirit fell to the ground. However, it recovered seconds later.

In the middle of the battle, Jeanne's iron coffin slammed open. A young girl stepped out and said:

"Marco, leave the circle." She ordered.

"But Lady Jeanne-" Marco tried to say, but was interrupted by Jeanne.

"We weren't able to catch Yoh, the gate is now useless. Get out now."

"Yes!" Marco said. All of the X-Laws backed away from the circle.

"Shamash!" Jeanne invoked her spirit. Shamash emerged form within the ground and rose above us.

"Everyone, move now!" I tried to warn, but it was too late. Golden lights surrounded us and created a barrier to keep us from escaping. I could feel the spiritual energy leaving my body and everyone else's. All the spirits lost their battle forms and we were concealed in a golden cage. The, it started to float toward the circle, leaving us right in the middle.

"This cage has a strong power in order to prevent us from using our furiyoku." Faust explained while he touched the cage carefully.

"What did I get myself into…" I murmured. "Hao is going to kill me."

"Now I've got you." A familiar voice said. A gigantic red hand materialized behind Jeanne and grabbed her tightly. So Hao came after all.

"Release her NOW!" Marco and Lyserg pointed their guns at Hao, who just chuckled in return.

"You can't protect your dear Lady Jeanne if she is dead, right?" He said while the spirit tightened his grip around the girl.

"Hao…" Marco cursed while he and Lyserg lowered their weapons. Then Hao looked up to us, who were still captive. His eyes locked on mine and he looked at me intently. Was he making sure I was okay? I was not sure of what to do, so I just nodded to let him know I was fine. When he saw my sign he looked at Yoh.

"You guys are mean." Said Hao to the X-Laws. "What were you planning to do to my other half?"

"We only have one purpose." Answered Jeanne with difficulty. "And that is to pass the judgment of justice on you!"

Hao turned to Jeanne.

"Don't push it." He said to her. Then flamed emerged from the spirit's hand and engulfed the girl completely.

"LADY JEANNE!" Lyserg shouted.

"Burn." He said calmly.

"Hao!" I shouted while gripping the bars of the cage tightly. "Don't…"

Hao turned his eyes to me. His expression was a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Please." I mouthed. We continued to stare at each other for a few more seconds until Hao finally released her. Jeanne's body fell limply, but before hitting the ground, vines that came from her iron coffin caught her and pulled her in.

I sighted in relief.

"Now you won't be able to use the Gate of Babylon you hoped for, right?" Hao smiled. So he knew about the plan from the beginning. Typical…

Lyserg knees gave up and he fell to the ground.

"Not even Lady Jeanne was able to defeat Hao." He sobbed. "What should I do now?"

What an idiot. If we're still trapped in this cage, it means Jeanne's oversoul is still working. She is definitely alive. She must be recovering inside her coffin.

It took him a while to realize this, but when he did, his spirit recovered. The X-Laws were more determined than ever to protect Jeanne, even at the cost of their lives.

"There is nothing wrong in having faith," Hao said. "However, I don't like how you meddled with my other half."

All of Hao's followers materialized in the scene at that moment. They had their spirits ready and charged at the X-Laws without hesitating.

_Come on, Hao. Are you really planning on killing them all?_


End file.
